5 Upcoming Disney Releases to Get Excited About
With several exciting projects in the works, it’s a great time to be a Disney fan.
After the success of 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” Disney started to put the wheels in motion on several other live action reboots of their classic cartoons.
After Tim Burton successfully proved that live action retellings of classic stories could indeed work, Disney immediately jumped at the chance to open the vault and start presenting stories and characters to a whole new generation of movie goers. This started with an announcement of three impending releases, Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. Maleficent picked up right where Alice in Wonderland left off in terms of box office success and was widely acclaimed by both fans and critics alike. In fact, Disney saw so much excitement about the live action projects, they recently announced another one Beauty and the Beast before even releasing Cinderella or The Jungle Book in theaters.
Let’s take a look at the live action movies, and a couple of new iterations to fan favorite animated films.
Cinderella (2015)
Next up in the live action twist on classic animated films is Cinderella, which is set to release March 13th of this year. Emma Watson was initially cast as Cinderella, but had to decline the role due to scheduling conflicts. So, instead of Watson, we’ll now haveDownton Abbey’s Lilly James in the leading role, accompanied by Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) as Prince Charming. Additional cast members of note are Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother, and Cate Blanchett and the wicked stepmother. I’m sure most are familiar with the story of Cinderella, but just in case, the plot follows a young girl who is orphaned and then mistreated by her stepmother and step sisters before magic and humility prevail.
The Jungle Book (2016)
The Jungle Book follows the story of Mowgli, an orphaned boy who is raised in the jungle with the help of a talking bear Baloo (voiced by Bill Murray) and a panther Bagheera (voiced by Ben Kingsley). Additional stars of note are Scarlett Johansson (Kaa), Idris Elba (Shere Khan), and Christopher Walken (King Louie). Neel Sethi, a newcomer to film, was selected to play the lead, as Mowgli.
Toy Story 4 (2017)
This one is still a couple of years away, so not much has been released as far as specifics. That said, you’d have to assume that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen will be back to their familiar vocal roles as Woody and Buzz (respectively). The previous four stories followed the heroics of coprotagonists Woody and Buzz Lightyear as well as a loveable cast of misfit toys.
Finding Dory (2016)
Finding Dory picks up one year after the original movie, and follows the forgetful amnesiac as she attempts to reunite with her loved ones off the coast of California. Most of the original vocal cast is back, and some notable names are: Ellen DeGeneres (Dory), Albert Brooks (Marlin), Diane Keaton (Jenny), Eugene Levy (Charlie) and Modern Family’s Ty Burrell (Bailey). In the original Pixar hit, Nemo, a loveable clownfish gets separated from his father who tasks Dory with helping to track him down. The sequel doesn’t mention Nemo specifically, but you’d have to assume he’ll make at least a cameo somewhere in the film.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
The fifth installment of the fanfavorite franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean is reported to set sail in 2017. This inclination is rumored to reunite Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow) with Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) who was notably absent in the last film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. While Bloom was lacking, Penelope Cruz helped to pick up the slack as Depp’s partnerincrime, Angelica. The series follows the often comedic misadventures of the eccentric pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow.
Beauty and the Beast (No Release Date)
Disney may have missed out on Emma Watson in the role of Cinderella, but it looks like that’s an occurrence that won’t happen twice. Watson has just been announced as Belle, the lead character, in the live action reboot of the classic Disney musical. While details aren’t quite available yet, we do know that the movie is set to begin production in 2015.
The original animated musical features Belle, a young bookworm and her adventures with a cursed prince, as well as some singing and dancing cutlery that made up the Beast’s house staff.
For Disney fans, the next few years bring a lot of exciting new forays into live action storytelling. Whether it’s the next iteration of a successful series, or reliving a classic story in a whole new way, Disney sure is on the tips of everyones tongue at the moment.
Which film are you most excited to see?
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales!